Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Haiti Earthquake

Serious post here....this is a disaster of Biblical proportions. If you have not donated money yet, please do so. We are all so concerned with our ultrarunning, but truth be told, it's largely a leisure pursuit made possible by our high standard of living. What is going on in Haiti is the real deal, life and death issues.

Donations to organizations such as the Red Cross are more immediate; personally, I am supporting Habitat for Humanity, which will assist people in in building affordable housing over the months to come. Regardless of your druthers, please be generous.

Our military presence is building and welcome. I was struck by a comment by a US paratrooper: Sorry that I can't provide the actual link....from the Guardian (UK) on-line edition (19 Jan 2010):

The US paratrooper had a simple message for the people of Haiti. Dressed in khaki, carrying an assault rifle and with the iconic sight of Black Hawk helicopters taking off behind him, he said: “I don’t plan on firing a single shot while I’m here. I’ve been in Iraq three times and I’ve done enough of that.”